Around the ABL: July 12-26

Dramatic three-run home runs, a walk-off grand slam, teammates going five for five, and a record hitting streak—all this and more awaits you in this edition of Around the ABL!

Derek Beimer

July 12: San Francisco 9, Maple 11. The newest member of the Marauders, Derek Beimer, wasted little time endearing himself to the Toronto fans. With the Marauders trailing by two in the eighth, Beimer hit a three-run homer to center to win it. Frank Powers has four hits, including a home run, and drives in four.

José Gonzáles

July 13: Boston 7, Cabo San Lucas 4. In a battle of the top two teams in the Weaver Division, the Cardinals and Toreros go to extra innings. In the 10th, José Gonzáles hits a three-run home run to left. The Cardinals not only win the game, they go on to sweep the four-game series and leave the Bullfighters seeing red.

Len Brewer

July 14: Mile High 14, Las Vegas 12. Vic Jennings hits two home runs and a double to lead the Joker offense as Vegas takes an 11-3 lead. Mile High's Len Brewer leads off the seventh by firing a solo shot to left. He might as well have fired a starting pistol because the Mustangs were off to the races. Four singles, an error, a walk, and a hit-batsman bring in four runs and load the bases. Hitting for the second time in the inning, Brewer doubles and drives in two. Francisco Morales follows with a three-run homer. All told, Mile High scores nine in the inning. Brewer wins Munson League Player of the Week: he goes 9 for 19 with a home run, four RBI, and five runs scored.

July 14: South Carolina 6, Jersey 8. Newly acquired Jayson O'Neill hits a grand slam for the Bombers, but the Jesters score four in the eighth to win it. Johnny Graham hits a solo home run, and Patrick Goff singles in two. O'Neill receives the Honorary Bruce Springsteen Award. His last three games with Kansas City? In Jersey. His first four games with South Carolina? In Jersey.

Artie Sanders

July 15: San Francisco 8, Maple 5. With the game tied in the seventh, Artie Sanders hits a three-run home run—his second home run of the game—to lead the Earthquakes to a victory over their rivals.

July 16: Jacksonville 1, Cabo San Lucas 2. The subject of many trade rumors, Jack starter Jim Thompson pitched like an ace. He goes eight innings and allows only one run, but Ed Griffith and Willie Patterson match him, and the game goes into extra innings tied at one. In the bottom of the 10th, Víctor Ramírez hits a walk-off home run to win the game for the Toreros.

Aurelio Ramírez

July 17: Seattle 2, Carolina 6. Young Aurelio Ramírez throws his best game of the season and shows why Carolina drafted him with their first pick in the draft. Against one of the league's top offenses, Ramírez pitches eight shutout innings, scattering three hits and three walks while striking out six.

July 18: So Cal 8, Montgomery 3. The Republic have already lost 20 games this month. They have won precisely one. Alfredo Yánez and Jeffrey Hensley (a.k.a. Batman and Robin) each get three hits, and the California batters score five in the fifth to beat the Mountain Cats.

Alex Austin

July 18: Los Angeles 4, Boston 5. The game lasts 16 innings. The Empire comes out swinging—Tommy Harris hits a three-run bomb in the first—but they don't score again until Andy Miller homers in the top of the 15th. Boston ties the game again in the bottom half of the inning as John White doubles in Alex Austin. Then, in the 16th, the Cardinals win it when Austin singles in Javier Ramón.

Peter Klein

July 18: New York 1, Dallas 2. The Mafia's 14-game winning streak comes to an end as Texan Peter Klein cools off the New York bats. Klein allows three hits and an unearned run over seven innings of work. Jesse Clark singles in two runs, which proves to be all the offense that Dallas needs.

Bill Hamlyn

July 18: San Francisco 4, South Carolina 5. Tied at one after 10 innings, the bats suddenly come alive in the 11th. Keiran Simmons hits his second home run of the game, a three-run shot that appears to win the game for the Earthquakes, but loyal hometown fans were rewarded in the bottom half of the inning. South Carolina loads the bases and, with two outs, Bill Hamlyn steps to the plate. The veteran catcher came into the game batting .191, but here he crushes a 436-foot grand slam to center field to win the game for the Bombers.

Roberto Guzmán

July 19: Nottinghamshire 3, Ann Arbor 12. Roberto Guzmán hits a three-run homer in the fifth and a grand slam in the sixth and sets a new ABL record by driving in eight runs.

Dale Watson

July 19: Minnesota 10, Montreal 12. The Berserkers take the early lead, scoring eight in the third behind a Dale Watson home run and a Will Johnson grand slam. But the Bandits hang tough and score five in the eighth to win it. Watson wins Clemente League Player of the Week, going 9 for 21 with four home runs, scoring six and driving in nine.

Tom Klein

July 20: Jacksonville 0, San Francisco 13. In the eighth, Artie Sanders singles for his fifth hit of the game. Later that inning, Sanders scores on teammate Tom Klein's single—his fifth hit of the game. Both players go five for five, with Sanders homering and Klein hitting four doubles. Klein goes on to win Munson League Player of the Week, going 13 for 27 with a home run and five doubles. He scores eight runs, drives in six, and steals four bags.

Dave Lee

July 21: Montgomery 0, San Diego 9. Dave Lee delights the hometown fans by twirling a four-hit shutout. It's his third shutout of the year, tying him for the league lead with Manuel Rúiz.

July 21: Greenville 8, Ann Arbor 7. Rookie Brooks Davis hits two home runs and drives in five, Z-Rod hits his league-leading 35th home run, and the Barn Owls take a 6-3 lead into the ninth. All-Star closer Del Hubble surrenders four hits and uncorks a pair of wild pitches, and the 84's tie the game in the ninth. In the 12th, Ron Hamm doubles in Merrill Harris as Greenville takes the lead for good.

Pat Sellers

July 22: Maple 8, Los Angeles 0. Pat Sellers piches a three-hit shutout for the Marauders, walking only one while striking out eight. Maple's offense jumps all over Empire ace Kingfish Crawford, scoring four in the first and driving him out of the game in the third.

July 23: Carolina 4, Nottinghamshire 5. From April through June, Nottinghamshire won a grand total of three series. This past week, they won two in a row, sweeping So Cal and taking two of three from Carolina. Their most dramatic win came on Monday. George Gilliam hits three doubles for the Crush, and Marlon Bentley (in game 18 of his current 20-game hitting streak) slugs a two-run homer for the Outlaws. The game goes into extra innings, tied at four. In the bottom of the 11th, Don Schwartz (batting .169 on the year) singles in Raymundo Gaias for the walk-off win.

Jim Brady

July 23: Minnesota 4, Ann Arbor 0. Division leaders square off, and Big Jim Brady pitches seven shutout innings to lead the Berserkers over the Barn Owls. Brady allows only one hit and three walks. Marvin Welch hits a solo home run, and scores twice more.

Dan Smith

July 24: Cabo San Lucas 8, Mile High 3. Dan Smith wastes no time establishing a new ABL record. With the bases loaded in the first inning, Smith lines a single to right, driving in the game's first run. The single extends his hitting streak to 27 games, passing the 26-game mark set by Danny Burris earlier this season. Smith goes on to extend the streak to 28 games by homering in the final game of the series. Can he reach 30?

July 25: San Diego 6, Dallas 4. Tomcat Bryan Caldwell doubles in Dorian Knight with two outs in the top of the ninth to tie the game. In the 12th, Wilson Anaya singles in a pair of runs to win it.

Steve Frend

July 26: Greenville 3, Seattle 10. Steve Frend becomes the first player to score 100 runs—then adds three more to his total. Frend hits a single, doubles twice, draws two walks, and drives in four.

Chris Collins

July 26: Montgomery 7, New York 5. Chris Collins—the man with the ugly face and beautiful swing—goes deep in the second, then homers again with the game on the line in the ninth. The game goes to extra innings, and Henry Bell hits a two-run homer in the top of the 12th to win it.

Notes: Seattle's George Sanders wins Clemente League Player of the Week, going 9 for 17 with four home runs and 11 runs batted in. He is the fourth Sasquatch player to win the award this year. ... Ann Arbor extends the contract of closer Ben Hayes: the deal is for four years and is worth $30,400,000. ... Having already added Keiran Simmons, San Francisco continues to strengthen their already potent lineup by trading for right-fielder Roberto Mendoza. ... When Maurice Gould fanned Gunner Smart in the sixth inning of Saturday's game, he became the first ABL pitcher to reach 200 strikeouts. ... Against Greenville on July 13, Montreal's Tom Becker became the first player to reach the 100 RBI plateau. Since then, Horseface has added 13 more to his total.